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EF2 tornado in Fillmore County, Minnesota

Tornado May 22, 2011 · Fillmore County, Minnesota

EF2

Rating

28.7 mi

Whole path

225 yd

Path width

Injuries

$775K

Damage as recorded

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Howard County, Iowa → Fillmore County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 225 yards (0.13 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF2 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF2 is considerable damage: roofs torn off well-built houses, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, consistent with estimated gusts of 111–135 mph. The rating comes from a survey of the worst damage after the storm, not from a wind measurement, so it says as much about what the tornado hit as about how strong it was.

What the National Weather Service wrote

This tornado moved into Fillmore County, west of Granger, shortly after 2 p.m. and continued to track northeast until dissipating northeast of Harmony. The worst damage from this tornado occurred southwest and west of Harmony where two farm silos were damaged and roofs were taken off structures. Damages were estimated to be around $250 thousand.

The wider storm

During the afternoon of May 22nd, severe thunderstorms developed along a cold front as it moved through southeast Minnesota. These severe thunderstorms produced two confirmed tornadoes, both of which were rated as EF2. The first tornado moved into Fillmore County from northeast Iowa and the second tornado occurred over eastern Houston County before crossing the Mississippi River into western Wisconsin. The first tornado produced significant damage around Harmony (Fillmore County) where silos were damaged and roofs taken off structures. The second tornado produced damage around Hokah (Houston County) with barns and other farm buildings damaged along with several residences. Around 4,500 customers loss power across Fillmore and Houston Counties. Damages across southeast Minnesota were estimated to be between $400 and $500 thousand.

Began near York (43.5006, -92.2469).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

1 more tornado the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

EF2 Houston County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 301132. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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